Amazon (AMZN) has joined other major high-tech companies, following Meta and Microsoft, to purchase electricity purchased from existing nuclear facilities. According to the report, tech companies will use 1.92 gigawatts of power from AWS Cloud and AI servers to enhance their power from the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant of Tallen Energy in Pennsylvania. This transaction is not new as it is a change to existing transactions with Talen from fall 2024.
AWS data centers are billed just like other similar customers in a grid connection. Talen said the transmission line would be reconfigured in the spring of 2026, and the deal covers the energy purchased until 2042. Additionally, the companies said they would build small modular reactors “within Talen’s Pennsylvania footprint” and expand production at existing nuclear power plants.
Amazon continues its new initiative to expand its AWS cloud servers
Amazon has recently started investing several times to enhance its Amazon web services capabilities. In recent weeks, the company has pledged to actively expand its data center footprint, including an investment of around $30 billion for data centers in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Amazon has already taken up to $100 billion in capital expenditures this year, but the majority of its stocks are taking part in AI-related projects.
Expansion of existing power plants is usually an easy way to add new nuclear resources. Microsoft started this last year with Constellation Energy, and Meta followed with Constellation earlier this month. The new generation of existing reactors and new SMRs “are aimed at adding netnew energy to the PJM grid,” Talen said in a statement, referring to the region’s grid operators. That last bit is likely a bid to unravel criticism from regulators about leaving the charge payer holding the bag.
As the cloud industry continues to heat up in the face of massive demand for AI, Amazon continues to improve its prices and invest in more infrastructure. Investors are actively responding to Amazon’s expansion efforts, but AMZN shares have fallen 3% since the start of the year. But much of that drop came after the threat of swept tariffs in April. Currently, AMZN has been backed up to 1% over the last 30 days.
